Not a ton to report in the IZOD IndyCar Series ranks as we await their next weekend in Houston, still some three weeks from now. Here are the on-track and off-track stories yet to emerge.

However, IndyCar registered highly on the “Awwwwww!!!” meter yesterday with a tweet showing a finalized ad of Josef Newgarden’s photo shoot with “Marc Jacobs the Cat.” Newgarden’s shoot was done for Show Your Soft Side, a Baltimore-area public service campaign designed to combat the alarming incidence of animal abuse in the city.

Interestingly, perhaps, Newgarden emerged after the shoot with his strongest, most complete weekend yet in nearly two full seasons in IndyCar at Baltimore. He made the Firestone Fast Six for the first time in his career (although his best start is still second at Long Beach in 2012, thanks to engine penalties to Chevrolet drivers) and had a yo-yo race day where he ran in the top five early, fell outside the top 15, then rebounded to finish a career-best second for his first IndyCar podium with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing.

Is it a coincidence the result came after the photo shoot? I’m inclined to think not. Whether Newgarden is able to match his Baltimore weekend at Houston will determine whether “kitten power” was merely a one-off or the good luck charm that changed his season for the better.